


Souls Are Made

by ac_MaryAgnes



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Carl Grimes is a perfect cinnamon roll, F/M, Fluff, New Family, Rick is a Good Bro, Rick wasn't shot, Shane Walsh has zero chill, i couldn't figure out how to end this, i'm only a little sorry, so it just kept going, too good for this world, too pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 10:47:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15022946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ac_MaryAgnes/pseuds/ac_MaryAgnes
Summary: Anything worth having was worth fighting for, and Shane would fight the whole damn world.In a world where the worst never happened, something new is made.





	Souls Are Made

**Author's Note:**

> “He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” - Emily Bronte (Catherine Earnshaw: 'Wuthering Heights')
> 
> Not joking about the Cathy-and-Heathcliff-ness of Shane and Lori. If they had a happy ending, this is what I think it'd look like.

Rick stood on the porch of the house he used to live in and ran his hands over his hair as he waited. Carl didn’t usually take this long to come out.

Every Saturday afternoon for the past two years, Rick would come by and pick his son up, only to have his mother collect him Tuesday afternoon after school. It was the custody agreement worked out between them and the judge and sure, a few homework assignments got lost here and there, but Carl adapted quickly and it turned out fine.

Lori opened the screen door and stepped out, bringing Rick’s attention to her as she closed the door firmly behind her.

“Hey Rick,” she sighed. Rick nodded back but said nothing. Lori took a deep breath. “Carl’ll be out in a minute. I uh… I wanted to talk to you real quick first, if that’s okay?”

Rick eyed her, but said nothing. Man, how could someone still be so pretty after being married to a crap husband like him for so long? Her skin was still that porcelain and rose it had been when they’d been nineteen. Her brown hair looked soft and shiny, and her hazel eyes were almost green today. Lori was lithe and willowy and beautiful, same as she always was. Once upon a lifetime, it took his breath away. Still kinda did, now that he thought about it.

Lori chewed on her lip and crossed her arms in front of her. “Shane asked me out. He told me he talked to you and… well, I didn’t want to say yes or no without talking to you first, too.”

Yeah, that was a boot in the ass. His best friend and partner wanted to go out with his ex-wife. “Can’t tell you it wouldn’t be weird,” he admitted. “But if you think he could make you happy…”

One of her pale shoulders lifted and dropped. “We talk and he seems to get me, on days I need someone to get me. And I know he cares for Carl.”

“Am I right in thinking this might be something serious?” Rick swallowed and shuffled to one side. “I don’t think either of you would talk to me about it if it weren’t.”

She thought carefully before answering that one. “We haven’t even gone out for coffee yet. I mean, he comes over for lunch sometimes but…. It might be. Serious. He seems pretty serious about me.”

“You serious about him?” And that was the kicker.

“I think I want the chance to be. Being a cop’s wife isn’t something just anyone can do. And I’m a little hesitant to try it again, you know?”

Rick shook his head. “Shane and I are real different, Lori.”

“Not where it counts,” she tried, but he held a hand out to stop her.

“When it comes to relationships, yeah, we’re different. I’ll tell you what I told him: if he can give you what you need, and if you can actually make him step up, I won’t stand in either of your way.”

Lori’s hands clutched at either side of her top. “I haven’t spoken to Carl about this yet,” she admitted. “I wanted to think about it first, talk to you and figure out if this was actually… a good idea or not.” She tipped her head from side to side. “I didn’t want to start something, have it go south, and then he’d lose someone he really looked up to, you know?”

Rick nodded and mulled that over. “You talk to Carl about every guy you’ve dated?”

Lori gave him a flat look. “Rick Grimes, are you seriously asking me that? You know damn well there hasn’t been anyone since we signed the papers two years ago.”

Rick smirked and ducked his head. “Yeah, that’s ‘cause Shane keeps scarin’ ‘em off.” Lori frowned at him. “Shane’s always been a little in love with you, Lor. He wasn’t going to let anyone get in his way of a shot with you now.”

She just shook her head. “Men are stupid,” she muttered to herself.

Behind her, Carl banged the screen door open. His school back was slung over one shoulder. He’d gotten so tall, though thanks to Rick’s genes the boy would never be as big as some of the others in his class. “Hey dad.”

“There’s my guy,” Rick declared, opening his arms up for a hug. Carl tucked himself into his father’s side, still young enough to want to hug his father in broad daylight.

“Alright,” Lori said, switching to ‘mom mode.’ “I checked his school work, but if he’s missing anything just let me know and I’ll run it over. Carl, you have your English paper, right? And the math problems we worked on?”

Young enough to hug his father, old enough to roll his eyes at his mother. “Yes, mom. I’ve got all my homework.”

“I’ll take one more look through before Monday, Lor,” Rick promised. He started to turn and guide his son down the front steps when he turned back. “Lori, do what makes you happy. The rest of the world will figure itself out.”

* * *

That night when Shane called (‘cause he called every night when he could), Lori brought up her conversation with Rick.

“Rick wants me to be happy,” she told him, her voice soft down the line. “Think maybe you could do that?”

On the other end, Shane let out a small, gruff laugh. _Finally_. He felt lightheaded all of a sudden, and like his heart was gonna beat right out of his chest. “Name the time and place, lady. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Lori felt a thrill move through her but clamped down. “Think you can wait until next Saturday? I want to give Carl a heads up, let him think it over some. I don’t wanna just spring anything on him, you know?”

“Of course,” Shane was absolute in his support. “Boy’s gotta look out for his momma, I know that.”

Lori swallowed and thought for a moment. She wanted to see him. He’d kissed her yesterday when he swung by the bakery where she worked. She’d been on her break outside behind the building, and he was flirting with her and making her laugh when she’d realised he’d gotten her backed up against the wall. And she’d stood there looking at him, hands coming up to his chest, his eyes burning holes into hers. He’d leaned in, and with the first brush of his lips against hers it was like a shot went off in her body. He’d pressed closer, pinning her to the wall as his mouth started to devour her, and Lori’s skin felt on fire, her insides liquefying and her brain short-circuiting. And suddenly sitting in her living room just talking to him on the phone wasn’t enough.

“I, uh…” Lori cleared her throat and started again. “I know it’s late, but have you eaten yet? I could, um… I could make you something, if you wanted.”

Shane let out a small huff. “What about waiting until next Saturday?”

“To go out,” she told him. “I didn’t say anything about staying in.”

This time, his laugh was dark and rich and made her breath catch. “Yeah, I’ll be right there, Lor.”

* * *

He woke up slow and happy. Satisfied, warm, and surrounded by the smell of Lori’s shampoo, Shane stretched under the sheets, arms wandering out to see if she was still in bed. The mattress around him was cool, and for a moment he was a little unsettled before he caught a whiff of pancakes. Fumbling over the floor for his boxers, he stumbled out of bed and made his way into the kitchen.

The radio was on, playing some cheesy Springsteen song about the strip being just right and blowing people out of their seats. Lori was swaying and humming tunelessly to herself along with the piano, the tails of the shirt he’d worn last night fluttering with her movement.

Shane watched silently for a few moments and, god this was just everything he always thought it would be. He’d wanted her for so damn long and to have finally had her…. All he could think of was that he just wanted her again. He’d never get tired of this woman.

Coming up behind her, careful not to let her get burnt by the hot stove top, he pressed his back against her front and ground into her ass.

“Think you might be up for another round, girl?” His hands moulded her hips as he started swaying with her, side-to-side.

“Shane-“ Lori chuffed with a laugh.

“I can hear your body,” he mumbled, face burying into her neck to nibble at her skin. “It’s saying ‘Shane, I want you’. And ‘Shane, I need you'. And-“ with a quick movement, he spun her around and slid his hands under her thighs, stepping back from the stove as he lifter her up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“SHANE!” Lori squawked, arms grappling around his neck for balance.

“Yeah, something like that.”

He deposited her on the kitchen table and ducked his head to kiss her. His hands ran down her thighs and then trailed up the front of the shirt she wore, unbuttoning it as he went. Suddenly she moved back, catching his hands in hers.

“Shane, the pancakes,” she panted against his mouth.

He let out a dissatisfied grumble as he pulled away from her and crossed the kitchen. Turning off the burner and moving the pan back, he jogged back across the room to her. Shane climbed up onto the table, pressed her back and settled heavy over her body.

Breakfast wasn’t burnt, but it did take a while to finish that morning.

* * *

Carl took a while to get used to things.

He loved Shane – he’d always been family – but Shane with his mom? That was kinda weird. Carl had always sorta hoped that one day, his dad would move back in and things would go back to normal. Neither of them was even dating any one, at least not until Shane.

His dad tried to explain it to him, that his mom was happier now than she’d been in a real long time. And yeah, Carl knew she laughed and smiled more than she used to, even before dad moved out. It was still pretty weird, though.

So when Shane took him shooting one Wednesday afternoon, Carl wasn’t entirely sure how to act.

Shane frowned at him as they drove. “Come on, kid. It’s me. We’ve gone to practice shooting damn near Wednesday since you were ten. What’s up with you?”

Carl shrugged, not sure what to say. Shane nodded and rolled to a stop at a red light. “This about me and your mom?”

Young, sullen eyes darted up to him and then back to the dashboard. Shane let out a slow breath and thought back to what he’d planned on saying; he knew he’d have to discuss this with Carl at some point.

“You know I only want to make your mom happy, right? And I’d never do anything to take her away from you.” Carl shrugged again but didn’t say anything. Shane wasn’t having it. “Come on now. You gotta give me something here. If I don’t know what’s wrong, I can’t fix it.”

Carl chewed over what he wanted to say as the light turned green and the car moved forward.

“What about my dad?” he asked, voice small and embarrassingly unsure.

Shane frowned. “Your dad… Rick’s like a brother to me, kid. You know that. Love him like family. But he and your mom… sometimes people drift apart and then they realise they’ve become different people. And those new people they are, it’s not always a good thing to stay married when that happens. That’s kinda what happened to your mom and dad. They’re different people than they were.”

The boy thought about that. “Is that what’s going to happen to you and mom?”

Shane chuckled under his breath. “No. Let me tell you something, Carl. Your mom could blow my brains out and I’d still love her forever. You could, too, for that matter. Blood and guts everywhere, I’d still want to be around you guys.”

“What about dad? If you’re like brothers, would you still love him if he blew your brains out, too?”

“Your dad and I have been friends since we was in diapers, kid. It takes more than blowing my head off to ruin that kind of friendship.”

* * *

Work was… awkward, at first. But Rick and Shane got over it eventually. They fell into the same rhythm they’d had since they were schoolboys. They had each other’s backs, trusted one another with everything. Rick would talk about his stupid landlord not fixing shit around the apartment on time. And Shane would offer to fix it, ‘cause he could and he was damned cheaper than any plumber or electrician. They’d bitch about paperwork and debate about what the Dixon brothers would get up to next. Things returned to normal in their own time.

It helped that Shane was never at the house when Rick came to pick Carl up for the weekend, that he hadn’t had to see Shane slotting himself into the family as if Rick never mattered. Of course, Shane wanted to be there, wanted to be with Lori and Carl every day. But Lori put her foot down – said it was too much too soon and that Rick still needed some time to come to terms with it. She didn’t want to rub it in his face or anything. She said they were still in the early stages of being together and it wasn’t fair otherwise.

To Shane, they’d been in the ‘early stages’ for damn near two years. He was ready to take the next step, to wake up with her in his arms every morning, and have dinner with her every night. To see the kid off to school and help with homework, maybe get him some siblings. He wanted to fight about work schedules and letting Carl stay out all night. He wanted the good, the bad, and everything in between. And it was real hard to remember that Lori just wasn’t there yet.

So he took what he could – weekends and lunch breaks, date nights and shooting practices. He took every step and cherished it, held each moment closer to her in his heart. He told himself that he’d wait. Shane Walsh was by no means a patient man, but he would be for her.

Things got harry again on Carl’s birthday. It was tradition for Rick and Shane to take the boy out on a camping trip with one or two friends – a Man’s Weekend, with fishing, hiking, sleeping under the stars, telling stories. In years past, Shane had taught Carl how to catch frogs and build a fire. Rick had taught him to set up a campsite safely and how to make sure bears and other scavengers avoided it. And Shane had always deferred to Rick when it came to what was appropriate for Carl to do and learn. At least, that’d been the way it was. This year was different, though, because Shane was starting to put himself in the role of the boy’s stepfather and he had very different ideas than Rick about what a boy should know when he was 14.

Shane thought it was the right time to start hunting with rifles. Rick disagreed and thought fly-fishing was more age appropriate.

“My dad took us hunting when we were 13, Rick,” Shane protested. “We did just fine.”

Rick shook his head. “I know my son. We’re going fly-fishing.”

Shane scoffed. “No 14 year old boy wants to stand in a cold river for hours holding a pole.”

“You call Lori and see what she thinks,” Rick challenged. Shane’s face started to go red but Rick pressed on. “She’s gonna agree with me and you know it.”

“Lori babies the boy and _you_ know _that_. Carl is 14 years old, Rick. Between you and me, he can’t get into that much trouble with a hunting rifle. He already knows the basics.” Shane scrubbed a hand over his hair and eyed his friend. “Is this gonna be a thing? Like, we gonna fight about everything regarding Carl forever? ‘Cause he deserves better than that, Rick. I get it – you’re his dad. But I’m in his life, too; have been for as long as he’s been born. My relationship with him is changing. Is that what this is? You don’t want me calling any kind of shots with him?”

Rick put his hands on his hips and looked at the leaves at his feet. “Carl is my son, Shane. You’re Lori’s boyfriend and my best friend, but that doesn’t change that I get to choose what’s best for my son. Killin’ animals is gonna be hard for him and I’m not gonna make him do that on his birthday.”

“If we show him how to do it the right way-“

“He’s still gonna have a hard time.”

“He’ll have to learn eventually, Rick! And I know how to make it okay – you know that. You gotta give Carl more credit than that; give _me_ more credit than that.”

Rick kept his eyes on the ground and shook his head. “No. He’s my son and what I say goes, Shane. You gotta respect that.”

Rick’s eyes flitted up and watched as a mulish look formed on his friend’s face.

“Fine,” Shane bit out. “We’ll do it your way.”

So Carl’s birthday weekend, they went fly-fishing. It was a good, if mildly tense, trip.

* * *

Two weeks after that, at the start of Spring Break, Shane took Carl out to the woods and started teaching the boy what he thought Carl should know.

Carl reacted exactly as Shane thought he would; the boy was interested, but had some trouble actually killing an animal.

“It’s okay,” Shane soothed as Carl once again lost the shot. “This isn’t something to do lightly. It’s good that you’re taking your time.”

Carl looked at the forest floor before turning his up to the man. “I don’t know if I can do it, Shane.”

Shane shook his head and ran a hand over the boy’s hair. “Huntin’ isn’t for fun. You do it for food, and you make sure you use as much of the animal as you can. And when you shoot it, you aim for something vital so it doesn’t suffer. It’s, ah… whatchya call it… humane.”

Carl chewed on the inside of his lips and nodded slowly.

“So lets find us an animal and see what we can do.”

Carl bagged one rabbit that day, and Shane showed him how to skin and butcher it. The boy had gagged a little, but avidly paid attention to what he was being shown. By the time they brought the meat and pelt back to Lori, Shane had built the boy up enough that he was damned proud of himself. Lori acted suitably impressed when shown her son’s prizes, but turned questioning eyes to her boyfriend once Carl was out of the kitchen.

“I thought Rick didn’t want you teaching Carl how to hunt like that.”

Shane had shrugged. “Boy needs to know, and he’s got a good eye for it. He’s not gonna have any nightmares about blood or guts, Lor. Rick can’t baby him forever.”

Lori’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m staying out of that one, good lord.”

Shane caught his woman around the waist and drew her in against him. He gave her a slow smile, satisfaction glowing in his dark eyes. “You see how proud of himself that boy was? He’s gonna go back to school and tell all his friends what he did. And this summer, we’ll go out and he’ll get himself a big ol’ buck.”

“If Rick doesn’t skin you first, you mean.”

Shane just shrugged it off. He didn’t care what Rick did to him. “Well, if he does, Carl’ll still have the pelt to remind himself of what he can do. He’ll find it one day in a box when he’s movin’ out for college or something and he’ll remember Shane Walsh, best damn stepdaddy who ever was, who taught him how to shoot and put the light back in his momma’s eyes.”

“Stepdaddy?” Lori pulled back, surprise on her face.

Shane wasn’t phased; his grin just widened. “Maybe not yet, but yeah. I’m gonna marry you, Lori Anne Grimes, and I’m gonna be Carl’s stepdaddy. Might as well get used to the idea now.”

“Shane,” she sputtered. “We’ve only been dating for-“

“Not proposing right this second.” His voice softened and he lifted a hand to brush a finger across her cheek. “But you can’t fight this, girl. You’re stuck with me and ain’t nothing you can say or do’ll get rid of my sorry ass now.”

Lori blinked a few times, reading the seriousness and certainty in his face. She should have been afraid. They’d only been together for six months and things were still rocky with Rick over it. And here Shane was, bold as brass, telling her he was gonna be there forever.

It should have felt sudden. It should have rocked her world and had her running for the hills. But the more Lori thought about it, the more right it felt. Because this was Shane. Shane, who made her laugh and roll her eyes. Shane, who texted her good morning when they couldn’t wake up together. Shane, who came to see her every lunch break he could spare, whether for a quickie or just to talk. The man who chopped vegetables next to her as she was making dinner and washed the dishes after without having to be asked. Who helped Carl with his history homework and got the boy to clean his room without raising his voice even once.

Lori looked at her man and swallowed against the tide of emotion welling up inside her. “You ever leave me, Shane Walsh, and I’ll be the one who skins you.”

* * *

About a month later, Shane burst into Lori’s house with a busted nose and bruises forming on his knuckles and around his eye. Lori was folding laundry on the couch and looked up with a startled gasp.

“Shane?” It was mid-afternoon and he was still in his deputy uniform.

“Got sent home early.” His voice was low and tense, and he held himself tight as he stalked through the living room to the kitchen. He ripped the freezer door open and grabbed the first thing his hand fell on – frozen carrots – and pressed the whole bag over his nose and eye. Closing the door with a slam, he braced his free hand in a fist against the counter and focused on trying to calm himself.

Lori appeared in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, the expression on her face telling him she needed to know – _right now_ – what had him storming into her house like that in the middle of the day. That was his woman: hard as nails.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

His jaw clenched as he stared at the floor, eyes dark and hard. He couldn’t say anything, not yet.

Still, Lori pressed. “Shane?”

“Fuckin’ Leon at the station, Lori! _That’s_ what the hell is going on. Dickhead had the fucking balls to ask me when his turn was. First Rick, now me. Wanted to know when he got a try at you.”

Lori’s eyes widened and she pulled up. “Excuse me?”

“That’s what I said, but that fucking asshole had to keep runnin’ his goddamn mouth. Rick told him to shut up and get the fuck back to work, but I ain’t like that, Lor. Can’t let someone talk about you, about us that way. Had to teach him, had to make sure he _never_ said anything like that again. And he just kept, kept spewing that _bullshit_ , kept heaping it on. So I grabbed him and dragged him out to the parking lot, taught him a goddamn _fucking_ lesson he’ll never forget. Sheriff thinks I broke his jaw and I don’t give a shit, Lori – I don’t give _a shit_! No one talks about you that way, not one fuckin’ _person_ talks about you like that, Lori. I got a week suspension, and I’ll take a month if I have to, beat his ass all over again sayin’ that bullcrap about you.”

He was breathing heavy by the end of it, his blood-stained shirt barely containing his rage. Lori took a long look at him, seemed to steel herself, and walked over to the sink. Stoppering it up, she turned the cold water on full and looked over her shoulder at him. She motioned him over and after a moment, he approached. He still held himself close, limping and one elbow pressed against his torso.

Lori’s fingers made quick work of his shirt buttons, and she peeled it off him carefully, leaving him in his undershirt. Pulling the deputy badge off and unpinning the nameplate, she dropped the shirt into the sink to soak. Badge and nameplate were deposited safely into the sponge dish, and she turned to look at him again. Slower this time, her hands went to his belt and she unsnapped his side arm; it was put up into a cabinet where Carl wouldn’t find it. Then she tugged on Shane’s free hand and led him silently upstairs, into the master bathroom.

She stood him in front of the toilet and leaned in close to kiss his cheek as she undid his belt and pants, then pushed him to sit on the closed seat as she pulled them down. Kneeling in front of him, she untied his shoes and tugged them, his socks and his pants off all. They were all set aside, and she leaned up to turn the tub faucet on. She looked back at him, her hazel eyes brown in the bathroom skylight, and started taking her own clothes off. Lori wasn’t giving him a show necessarily, but it felt strangely intimate all the same.

When she was naked, she stood Shane up again and carefully took the bag of carrots from him and set them in the sink. He let her lift his undershirt off him, and his breath caught when she pressed a kiss to his chest. Her fingers brushed lightly over the bruises forming against his ribs before she pushed his boxers off, leaving him bare as well. She turned checked the temperature of the water in the tub, then turned the faucet off. Shane climbed in slowly, his ribs and nose protesting when he moved too fast, but settled in and waited for her.

Lori climbed in after him and settled her back against his chest, leaning to the uninjured side. She pressed her forehead into his neck under his jaw and let his arms wrap around her.

She was solid and the water was warm and Shane felt the tension start to fade away.

“You’re the best thing in my life, Lori,” he admitted, his voice hushed and rough with emotion. His uninjured cheek rested against the top of her head.

“And you’re the only one I want, Shane,” she whispered back to him. “Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.”

* * *

Shane stood in the stands and watched Carl approach the batter’s box. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted: “Let’s go, Carl! Show ‘em how it’s done!”

Lori sat next to him, leaning forward on her knees, soft pretzel forgotten in her hands. She held her breath as the pitcher threw the ball, and cursed quietly to herself when the umpire called the first strike.

“Come on, Carl!” she yelled. “You got this!”

The umpire called the second strike and Shane started cursing a little more loudly than the other parents were comfortable with. “You can hit a rabbit at 50’, kid, you can hit this next one!”

Lori stood, her free hand clutching Shane’s belt as the pitcher threw out the next ball. The bat cracked solidly against the hide of the ball, sending it far into the outfield. Lori screamed and cheered as her son rounded the bases, Shane whistling loud in her ear. Carl’s smile beamed up at them as he slid into home, the catcher tagging him with the ball just a little too slow to put him ‘out’.

After the game – in which Carl’s school team won by a single home run – they went down to the dugout with the other parents and greeted their sweaty, happy boy.

“There’s the home run king!” Shane crowed, swooping down to lift Carl into a great big hug.

When he was back on the ground, Lori pulled him into one as well. “I’m going to get a tape of it so we can show your dad,” she told him. “He’s gonna be so proud of you.”

Rick’s sister Evie had come back from a tour in Iraq and needed some help around the house as she got used to her new leg. Carl spoke with both of them on the phone every night, but his dad had been real bummed he couldn’t be there for the game.

“We’re gonna have pizza and ice cream and all kinds a’ shit tonight, kid.” Shane grabbed Carl’s duffle and hoisted it over a shoulder, bringing the boy to his side as he started to guide them through the throng.

“Coach Stu said we’re all going out after the game. Can we go, mom?”

Lori looked down at her son and smiled. “Let me go find him and I’ll see where everyone’s meeting.”

The team headed out for celebratory burgers. The restaurant was teeming with loud, dirty young boys and their equally loud parents. Several people asked where Rick was and were appropriately sympathetic when they heard about Evie’s injury. A few gave Shane the side-eye – several of the moms he knew fairly… _well_ – but mostly he just stuck to the dads. Talking about the good old days when they had time for sports, bragging about their kids and how well they played.

When they got back to Lori’s house, Carl rushed upstairs to clean up. Lori Followed him and brought down the dirty uniform to add it to a load ready for washing.

“It ain’t football,” Shane muttered, cornering Lori and backing her into the washer in the laundry room, “but baseball’s not that bad a game. Growin’ on me I think.”

Lori shook her hair back and brought her arms up around Shane’s neck. “Carl takes about as much time as a girl in the shower these days.”

Shane’s smirk became a rascally, dirty thing as he pushed his hips into Lori’s. “Is that right?”

She hummed and turned to push the washer’s start button. As she came back around, Shane caught her face and tipped her head back. Dragging his lips down her neck, he mumbled: “So we got enough time then?”

“I’d say so,” she managed to say around the hitch in her throat.

Carl wasn’t the only home run king that day.

* * *

About a year in, Shane started looking up two things: wedding venues and houses in Carl’s school district.

He’d had Lori’s engagement ring bought and paid for almost as soon as they’d started dating, and while he hadn’t proposed to her yet, he knew the right location was hard to find. When Lori and Rick had gotten married, it had been a big church thing with almost a thousand people there. This time, he figured she’d want something smaller, something simpler. There was a family a town or so away with a big barn and lots of land they rented out for weddings.

“It’s a good thing you’re looking this all up now,” the youngest daughter, Beth, told him when he called for more information. “A lot of places don’t book less than a year in advance.”

The price she quoted him for a full weekend of using the barn and farmhouse was right, and the pictures online were right up Lori’s alley. He told Beth he’d be in touch soon with a more firm date, but that he’d be looking at some time in the fall if that worked for her.

The houses were a little harder. He wanted a fresh start for them – not his house, where he’d given just about every meaningless fuck a key for convenience; not her house where she’d built and demolished a life with Rick. He wanted something they could make into their home, together. Nothing he found satisfied him, though. The kitchen wouldn’t be big enough for her, or there weren’t enough bedrooms for him. No shed or garage to work in; no yard for kids to play or a dog to run around.

Nothing that was ready for move-in was the right fit.

Then he found it: the perfect house. He was just driving around the outskirts one day and he saw it. The sign out front said it was for sale, and there was no lock on it when Shane went to poke his head in. It was a large farmhouse-style home with a huge kitchen and dinning room; four bedrooms on the second floor and full mother in-law suite on the first; a wrap-around porch; a tree out front perfect for climbing and a hanging a tire swing; and plenty of space to grow into. There were only a couple problems.

One – it was pretty far from Carl’s school. Not even on the bus route, which meant Shane or Lori would have to drive him in on the mornings he was with them. Or fight with the school board to get a bus out there. At least until he could teach the boy to drive.

Two – it was falling down. The roof leaked which caused all sorts of water damage. The porch wasn’t safe to walk on and the steps were rotted through. Three windows on the upstairs were broken and all the doors were warped. None of the plumbing or heating was any where near up to code. A family of racoons lived in the upstairs tub, squirrels resided in the attic, and some kind of bird had built its nest in the chimney. The yards – front and back – were overrun with weeds.

Aside form all that, it was perfect. It was everything they’d need or want. It’d just take a bit of work was all. So he put a down payment on it and quietly started the process of selling his house. He was mostly living at Lori’s anyway, so his furniture and the like were transferred to a storage unit near by.

When he took Lori out to see the house weeks later, he’d blindfolded her so it’d be a surprise. Construction crews were set to arrive the next day, but he wanted her to see it before then. He wanted to know if she saw what he did.

“Where in the world are you taking me?” she demanded to know when they’d been in the car for more than fifteen minutes.

“We’re almost there, lady. Hold your horses.”

Soon enough, he turned down the dirt path to the house and stopped the car. Taking a deep breath, he got out, rounded to the other side of the hood, and helped his blinded girlfriend to her feet.

“Okay,” he started, turning her so she’d have the perfect vantage point. “You can look now.”

Hesitating, Lori reached behind her head and pulled the strip of cloth from her face. It was bright, sunlight reflecting off the inch of snow that had fallen a few days ago, so she blinked for a moment as her eyes adjusted. And as she focused on what was in front of her, anything she’d thought she’d say blew right out of her mind.

Before her was a decapitated, sad house. A huge one, sure, but boy was it a wreck. Not knowing what he wanted her to say, Lori looked from the farmhouse to Shane and waited for him to speak.

“It’s ours. For us. Won’t move in for a while, obviously. Gotta fix it up first. But it has everything we need. Come on,” he tugged on her hand, rough fingers enveloping her cold ones. “I wanna show you the inside.”

Lori, stunned, followed mindlessly for a moment but then she dug her heels in. “What? You bought this?”

Shane looked back at her, face open and honest. “Yeah. For us.”

“Why do we need another house, Shane?”

“So we can live as a family with a fresh start. Look,” he stepped close to her, pitching his voice low. “My house wasn’t a place I’d want to bring you and raise a family in. Too much of a bachelor pad. And your house is great, but there’re too many memories there. I want to build something new with you, have something that’s just ours. And this place, once it’s fixed up, it’s gonna be perfect, Lor. I promise you, you’re gonna love it.”

She stared at him, skeptical. “Okay. Convince me, Shane Walsh.”

Lori wasn’t in love with it by the time the tour had ended, but she could see the potential of the place. It had good bones, and at one time it must have been lovely. The way the banister curled solidly from the first to second floor; the way the kitchen overlooked what must have been a garden at some point; the clawed, ceramic tub in the master bathroom. Shane seemed convinced it would be lovely again. And Shane was many things, overconfident definitely being one of them, but he wasn’t wrong often. At least, he hadn’t been so far.

So she said okay to the house when they got back to the car. Which prompted a make-out session that had them scrambling into the back like teenagers, fumbling with coats and seats and clothes.

When they got back to her place, Shane made her a nice dinner (stake under the broiler with roasted potatoes and a salad, which was about as much as he knew how to make). He poured wine and lit candles and held her hand as they ate. Afterwards, he took care of the plates.

“Stay there,” he told her as he backed towards the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

Baffled, Lori huffed and propped her head in her hand. She didn’t have to wait long before Shane was thundering back down the stairs, something clutched tight in his hand. He stopped in front of her chair and his face became serious. Then he got down on one knee.

“Lori, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. We’ve been friends for a long time, and we’ve seen each other through some awful shit. You know I love you with every bit I have inside me. And you know I’ll never leave you, not for anything. You know I’ll be a good dad to Carl and whatever babies we have.” He opened the box he held, and Lori’s hands flew to her mouth in surprise. “Lori Anne Grimes, will you marry me?”

Tears pooled in her eyes as she nodded and held her left hand out. Shane’s smile was blinding as he put the ring on her finger. It was a thick band around a little diamond, taking up nearly the whole knuckle. It was solid and secure, like him, like their love, and Lori thought it was perfect. He pulled her up out of her seat and swept her into a kiss, his hands cupping her cheeks, thumbs wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“I love you, Shane Walsh,” she whispered around the clog in her throat. “I love you and I’m not ever gonna stop.”

* * *

Not that everything was sweetness and candy. Shane was Shane and Lori was Lori. Bull-headed and strong-willed, the both of them. When they got into it, they could argue to beat the band down. Sharp words and slamming doors and broken dishes. Scaring the neighbours into calling Rick; scaring Carl into calling Rick; scaring Rick into thinking maybe getting married wasn’t the best idea for the two of them.

Especially after Lori found out she was pregnant.

Especially when she got rear-ended at a legal stop sign on her way home from work.

Rick and Shane were the first ones on the scene, being a few streets over when the dispatcher chimed in over the radio. Shane, at the wheel, immediately recognized the car described as Lori’s little two-door and pulled the safest u-turn he could muster while trying not to panic. At the crash, the other driver was out of his car – a young kid no more than 17 – leaning over Lori’s driver-side window. Over his shoulder, Shane could see the air bag deployed and went into overdrive.

“Hey! Get the fuck away from her!”

The kid scrambled back at Shane’s barking order, eyes wide with fear. “I-I swear, it was an accident, officer!”

Shane ignored him in favour of his woman, still buckled in her car. Her hazel eyes focused on him and she immediately gave him a ‘chill the hell out’ kind of look. But there was blood on her face – a cut along her hairline – and her airbag had gone off and the trunk of her car was all smashed to hell and _no_ , Shane did not understand ‘chill’ at that particular point in time.

“Shane-“ Rick called after him, but his partner couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing in his ears.

Shane yanked Lori’s car door open and reached in to unbuckle her seatbelt. “Lori, are you okay? Can you tell me what happened? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Her eyes closed. Good lord, this was a mess. “Shane, I’m fine.”

“Don’t get out of the car,” he told her, but helped her swing her legs out. “EMTs are on their way, baby.”

Behind them, Rick was getting a statement from the kid driver, who kept shooting concerned looks at the couple.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep him from throwing the book at you,” Rick assured him.

“Why? Do they… do they know each other?”

Rick shook his head. “That’s his fiancée. And my ex-wife. And we just found out she’s pregnant.”

He took a perverse sort of pleasure watching terror light in the boy’s eyes.

Lori pushed Shane’s hands away, but he insisted on shining a light in her eyes to check her pupils and asking her questions. When the EMTs arrived, Shane told them they had take her to the hospital to check on the baby, too. Lori just shook her head and said she and the baby were fine; she just wanted to go home. But Shane was a deputy and the EMTs did not want a potential miscarriage on their hands, so off they went to the ER.

They were made to wait hours at the hospital. Shane didn’t leave her side once, not even for a minute. His dark, hot eyes were trained on her watching for any indication that he needed to call the doctor or nurse or somebody. Rick swung by at one point to check up on her and let Shane know they were both pulled from being able to process the paperwork – conflict of interest. Shane didn’t give a damn as long as the bastard’s licence was pulled (it wouldn’t be, but no one was going to tell him that). Rick would be picking Carl up from school and letting him know what was going on and that everything would be fine. He said it was no trouble to keep him for the night and get him to school in the morning.

As Lori predicted, the doctor said she and the baby were fine and free to go home. She was advised to take it easy for a few days – nothing strenuous, and _definitely_ no work tomorrow. She saw the look in Shane’s eyes and knew there’d be a fight brewing.

And there was. As soon as they got home. (Well, not _as soon_ as they got home; Lori needed to eat and Shane decided to stew a bit in his anger.)

“You gonna quit that job, Lori.” It wasn’t a demand or a question. Shane stated it as if it were truth, but there was a threat in his voice that said she’d better do it.

Understandably, Lori took exception.

“ _Excuse_ you?” Lori snapped to attention as he took her dinner dishes away, disbelief written all over her face. “What was that you said to me?”

Lori loved her job at the bakery, the one she took when she divorced Rick to help supplement her income and give her something to do when Carl was staying with his father. She’d gotten into one – ONE – accident that wasn’t even her fault. How the hell did that man equate one with the other?

“You wanna be pissed at me, smack me around, you go ahead, girl. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. But I’m not changing my mind. You and the baby, you mean too much to let me allow you to risk yourself for a part time job. We have the house to move into, this one to sell, and a wedding to organize. You don’t need the extra income anymore and you have plenty to keep you occupied at home.”

“I’m not losing my independence because some blind asshole didn’t see me stop at a stop sign!”

“You won’t be losing a damn thing, Lori!” Shane shouted, smacking the counter with an open hand. “You’d be keeping yourself and our baby safe!”

“Rick would never have asked me to quit a job just because-“

“Well Rick ain’t fucking here! Don’t you tell me you wished he were ‘cause that’s damn lie! It’s just me! And I’m puttin’ my fucking foot down!! You don’t quit, I’m doin’ it for you and that’ll be it!” Lori was gearing up to say something truly awful when he cut her off as she opened her mouth. “You’re my family, goddamnit. I’m gonna do everything I can to protect you and if that means pissing you off, I’ll do it. I love you too much to let you be careless!”

“Lets get one thing clear, Shane Walsh – you don’t ‘ _let me_ ’ do anything!”

“Ain’t that the goddamn truth.” Shane threw the last of the dishes in the sink as a knock came from the back door.

Lori heaved herself out of the chair, even as Shane made growl to stop her, and stomped towards it. She flung it open, rattling the screen door with the force. Rick stood on the opposite end, eyes wide and looking like he wasn’t too sure what he was walking into.

“Hey Lor,” he started carefully. “Jenny Smith from next door called me. I was already on my way over to see how you were doing, but what she said, sounded like maybe you and Shane might need a mediator.”

“Don’t need anything but a blunt object for Shane’s thick head.”

Rick pointed a finger at her as he crossed the threshold. “I’m gonna ignore the fact you just threatened an officer of the law and take a wild guess that whatever you’re arguing about, it has something to do with the bump on the head you got this afternoon?”

Lori reached up and ran her fingers over the bruise mostly covered by her hair and glared at her ex husband. “You need to talk to that man and get his head on straight before I straighten it _for_ him.”

Without another word, Lori carefully moved to the stairs to take a shower. She wanted to wash this day off and just get some sleep. Rick watched her leave, lips twisting to the side, and then turned to his best friend. “You wanna tell me what’s up?”

Shane growled and tossed his head. “She wouldn’t’a gotten in that accident today if she hadn’t been coming home from work. She don’t even need that stupid job; I take care of her just fine. That’s my job – to make sure shit like this don’t happen to her. Some kind of crack up I am, huh? Can’t even, can’t even protect my own goddamn woman?”

Rick put his hands up and tried to quite his friend. He’d never heard Shane talk like that before. “Shane, you know this isn’t your fault, right? The boy that ran into her – _that’s_ who’s fault it is. And he’s gonna pay for it according to the letter of the law and the insurance companies. But that’s not on you.”

Shane scrubbed a hand over the back of his head, eyes still wild and on edge. “Don’t matter. Never gonna happen again. I can’t risk her, can’t risk the baby. She’s gonna quit that job. Or I’ll quit it for her if she don’t.”

“Man, you know you can’t do that.”

Shane’s head popped up, eyes searing into Rick’s face. “The _hell_ I can’t.”

“You know what kinda man it’ll make you if you do that to her?”

“The kind that’ll do anything to protect his own!”

“The kind that wants his wife under his thumb, Shane. Everything you love about Lori is her ability to be her own person. That includes having space to be herself, and have a job if she wants it. The fact that she was coming home from work when the accident happened means nothing. What if she’d been picking Carl up from baseball practice, huh? Would you keep him from the team? From school? Just to keep something from maybe happening?”

Shane’s face crumpled, hands coming up to bury his fingers through his hair. “Rick, I coulda lost them. I can’t lose them.”

Rick took a few steps closer and wrapped his arms around his friend. “You’re not gonna, man.”

Shane trembled, stiff and afraid, before collapsing forward into his friend.

After Rick got him to calm down, got him a beer, and got him to actually think like a human freakin’ being again, he said good night and left. Shane wandered around the first floor, turning off lights and locking the doors and windows before turning towards the stairs. Taking a fortifying breath, he climbed.

The bedroom was dark, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say Lori was sleeping. But he knew his woman and she was a tough one.

He peeled off his clothes and crept into bed behind her. Sliding one arm under her neck to wrap around her chest and the other across her abdomen, he pulled her in tight. He pressed his lips to the back of her head and just held her for a second.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I don’t want you to quit your job if you like it. I just… You, Carl, the baby and Rick, Lor. That’s all I’ve got. You’re _it_ for me, you’re my family, and the thought of losing you…”

Lori took a deep breath and kissed the skin of his arm. “You’re not gonna, Shane. And you can’t wrap us in bubble wrap or cotton blankets to keep us safe.”

He nodded his head against the pillow behind her. “I know. Just…. Let me hold you tonight, okay? Just like this, where I know nothing can hurt you.”

Lori shuffled a bit and settled against him. “As long as you need, babe.”

* * *

Lori ended up quitting the bakery anyway. The closer it got to moving into the new house, and the further along in wedding plans she got, it was next to impossible to juggle that and a job and Carl and make sure she took time to take care of herself and the baby. Shane got a light in his eye when she told him, a pleased ‘everything is perfect in my world’ kinda look. Lori decided it was best to ignore that.

Carl was particularly excited about the new house. He got to pick out his room and everything. Shane had taken him on a walk-through not too long after the new walls had gone up, when the kitchen and bathrooms were getting their major organs put in. That had looked pretty cool. Carl chose a room near the back of the house with a magnolia tree near enough that he could climb out it if he wanted to. Not that he was going to mention that to his mom or Shane. But Shane did say they could paint it whatever colour he wanted. Carl spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in his unfinished room, thinking about where he’d put his things and what colour he wanted it to be.

“Blue-grey,” he declared at dinner that night, looking up at his mom and almost-stepdad. “I want it to be blue-grey and I want my bed facing the window. I can move the rest around myself if I don’t like it.”

Lori shared a small smile with Shane. “Blue-grey huh? Want to go to Home Depot with me tomorrow and pick out the right shade? We’ll get the crew started on it as soon as we can.”

Carl nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Good,” Lori said. “You were gonna be coming anyway. I need help picking out cabinet knobs and drawer pulls for the kitchen and bathroom.”

“You should chose all different kinds of ones, mom. So there’s a mismatch.”

“Maybe when you have _your_ house, everything can be mismatched,” Lori teased, reaching over the table to ruffle her son’s hair.

“But everything will be unique! Each one will be special.”

Shane ducked his head, chuckling. “That sounds real nice, Carl. But I think your mom has a plan for this house and we should let her to it.”

Carl shrugged and screwed his lips to the side. “Alright.”

* * *

Shane and Lori were married on a crisp fall morning in the barn on the Greene Family farm with a small reception in the farmhouse. There were only about a hundred people there – mostly work friends and what little family they had between the two of them.

Lori walked herself down the isle, the lace of her gown trailing out behind her, and a clutch of red dahlias, orange chrysanthemums, and pale pink roses in her hands. Shane waited at the other end – looking dumbstruck and so, _so_ handsome in his tuxedo suit – Carl standing at his side. Rick stood in the very first row, a sad sort of smile on his face.

The Greene’s had set everything up for them. The eldest was reportedly out of town, but an energetic young man named Shawn happily escorted guests from the barn to the house where they were welcomed by a surprisingly young woman – Beth, from the phone call all those months ago. Beth oversaw the caterers her sister had sent over and between the two present Greene siblings, the reception went incredibly smooth.

Lori and Shane didn’t notice. They pretty much only saw each other and that was just about it.

* * *

They spent two weeks at a cabin on the lake, locking out the whole world save for each other. When they came back, Lori’s little baby bump had finally made itself known. A few weeks later, they found out it was a girl and The Great Name Debates officially began.

“Daria is nice,” Lori commented, feet propped up on an ottoman as she flipped through a name book.

“Maybe nice for some one not _our_ daughter,” Shane sassed as he lined up another nail. He’d been hanging garland all day, wanting the house to be ‘Christmas perfect’ for Carl. Well, he said it was for Carl; his wife knew it was because Christmas was his favourite holiday and the man was maniacal about decorating.

Lori rolled her eyes and kept looking. “Kelli? With an ‘I’?”

Shane bobbled his head, looping the string of fake pine up over the kitchen doorway. “We’ll put it on the back burner for right now.”

“Oh, what about April? She’ll be born April or May.”

Shane shot her a stink face. “I love you babe, but maybe the hormones are giving you bad ideas.”

“Fine,” she bit out, tossing the book to the floor near his stepladder. “You find a name.”

“My grandma was Jane.”

Lori narrowed her eyes at him. “Maybe. What else have you got?”

“Mom was Lila Jean.”

Rick told him to let Lori choose, which wasn’t that much help. “Look, man, if I’d had my way Carl would be Zach or John. Carl was her granddad’s name, and the man practically raised her, so I let it be. But you remember how she got later in her pregnancy; she’d get that look in her eye, man, and…”

“And your world was hell ‘til you did as she told you, yeah I remember,” Shane chuckled.

Rick shot him a rueful smirk and adjusted his hands on the wheel. “Yeah. So if she finds something she likes… just let her have it.”

When asked for his opinion, Carl liked old names, like his. “There’s Ida, and Annette. Ruth-“

“Honey,” Lori stopped him. “The other two are nice, but Ruth… You yell out Ruth enough times, it sounds like you’re barking. I don’t wanna bark at your sister.”

“What about Candida?”

Shane shook his head. “That’s a type of fungus, kid. _Candida Albicans_ – yeast infection. You’ll learn all about those once you start dating girls.”

At 15, Carl was definitely taking after Rick in the relationship department. Not even being on the baseball team could keep him from being naturally awkward and nerdy. He didn’t seem to care too much, though.

Lori threw a pillow from the couch at her husband’s head. “That’s disgusting, Shane.”

And so it went. The bedroom across from theirs was designated as the nursery. The crown moulding and floorboards were painted a soft pink, and a white-and-pink polka dotted area rug was laid on the hardwood floor. Shane found a guy who made rocking chairs from scratch and got one for Lori. He spent an entire afternoon putting together the crib Lori had picked out, cursing the damn thing the whole time.

Rick and Carl picked out some small bookshelves from a garage sale at Rick’s apartment. They spent a whole weekend sanding them down and painting them white as a baby-shower gift. Carl wanted to write a name on the top, but since Lori and Shane still hadn’t picked one, Rick discouraged it as a bad idea.

* * *

“Maisy?”

“No. Olivia?”

“Livi and Lori are too close. Mable.”

“Girl, where’s your head? Mable? You serious?”

“Okay fine. Charlotte.”

“Charlotte’s okay. Could call her Charlie. Portia.”

“We’re not naming my daughter after a car. Irene.”

“Portia is a character from Shakespeare. So is Mercedes. No to Irene.”

“Still sounds like a car name, Shane.”

* * *

Judith Bree Walsh was born April 21st at 0515. Lori needed to have an emergency c-section because the baby wasn’t descending into the birth canal, which sent Shane up the wall. Lori wasn’t worried because Carl had also been delivered via c-section, so this was all very normal for her.

“Shane,” Lori grabbed her husband’s hand and pulled his attention to her. Wild brown eyes found hers; god, this man was so on edge. “This is a routine procedure. There’re risks with any surgery, but the doctors here know what they’re doing. You need to breathe and let them do their job.”

“Lori-“

“I know,” she soothed her free hand over his head and brought him in for a kiss. He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed. “We’re gonna be alright and at the end of this, we’re gonna have a healthy baby girl.”

And they did – Judith came out 7lbs 13oz, squalling and angry at the whole world. She had ten fingers, ten toes, and her momma’s hazel eyes. And a set of lungs on her that definitely meant she was Shane’s daughter.

Lori was pretty doped up and took a few hours to come around, but by then Carl, Rick and Paula had decided to drop by. They cooed over the new baby, delight and awe colouring Carl’s face when he held her for the first time.

“She’s so pretty,” he whispered. Rick hovered over his son’s shoulder, peering at the little pink bundle peaking out of the blankets.

“That’s your mom’s doing,” he told him. “Shane would make babies that look like gorillas if it weren’t for her.”

Shane scoffed and shook his head, hiding a smirk, but stayed where he was next to Lori on the bed.

Paula brought flowers and a congratulations card from the other moms on the PTA. "Oh my god!" she squealed softly. "Let me hold that little nugget. Oh, Lori, she's precious."

"Won't seem so precious when she starts waking me up in the middle of the night, but yeah," Lori gave her friend a tired smile. "She's kinda perfect."

When they got home, Shane could hardly stand to put Judith down. He held her all the time, skin-to-skin, as often as he could. Except when Lori needed help moving around or when Judith needed to eat. He hated having to go back to work two weeks later.

“Shane, you look like a cat with nine tails in a room full of rocking chairs,” Rick commented after Shane checked his phone for the twentieth time that morning. “You gotta relax, man. Lori knows what she’s doing.”

“I know that,” Shane grunted, scrubbing a hand over his hair. “I just…. What if she slips and falls in the shower? What if she’s walkin’ down the stairs with Judy and she misses one?”

“What if a plane drops out of the sky and smashes the house?”

Shane’s eyes were dark and hot as he shot a nasty glare at his friend. “Don’t joke like that, man. Don’t do that to me.”

Rick rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. “You’re a goddamn mess, Shane,” he muttered as he scrolled through his contacts. “You know what? It serves you right, being this crazy. You were always too casual about everything. Now you got a woman you’re head over heels for, a stepson who really looks up to you, and a baby girl of your own, and you’re just out of your ever lovin’ mind.” He held the phone up to his ear and waited for an answer as Shane fumed in the seat next to him.

“Hey. Yeah, you need to talk to him. Here.” Rick’s cell phone was held out to his best friend, who snatched it.

“Shane,” Lori sighed from the other end of the call.

“Hey baby,” Shane mumbled and slouched in his seat, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid.

“Why is Rick calling me in the middle of the day?”

Shane chewed on the inside of his cheek before answering. “You okay?”

She chuckled, a low sound that was warm in his ear. “Of course I’m okay. I had a baby, Shane, I didn’t die.”

He took a slow, deep breath and let it out carefully. “I don’t like being away from you two when she’s still so little.”

Lori was silent for a moment. “All you took was two weeks, babe. You’re allowed twelve-“

“Twelve _unpaid_ weeks. Had to go back to work.” He struggled with what to say next; didn’t want Rick making fun of him. The man sure as hell wasn’t like this when Carl had been born. “Hate it.”

He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but it was seriously torture not being able to see them and know his wife and child were safe. And it was worse because he knew – he fuckin’ knew – he was being stupid over the whole damn thing. Lori was a great mom and Judith was perfect baby. Nothing was going to happen. But the fears he had, they didn’t care about logic or reason. They just ate at him all day.

He spent a few more minutes talking to his wife before they hung up. He handed the phone back to Rick with a doleful look.

“Our line of work, you see the worst shit. Can’t help it if that’s all you can think about sometimes, you know?”

Rick nodded. “Yeah. I know. Sometimes, when he was little, I’d look at Carl’s baseball coach and wonder if he was really safe with that man. Stuie Jones is a good guy – married with three kids, never sent out any of the signals we’d look for – but I couldn’t help it. I got past it, though, ‘cause I had to. And Carl knows that if anything were to ever happen, even now, he could come to me – or you or Lori – and we’d take care of it.”

“Kill the bastard is what we’d do.”

“And make it look like an accident. Wouldn’t even feel bad.”

Shane nodded and looked at his hands. The wedding ring was still so new, but it felt like a part of him already. He knew Rick was right – he’d destroy whatever threatened his family, no second thoughts or questions asked.

Anything worth having was worth fighting for, and Shane would fight the whole damn world for Lori and their kids.

**Author's Note:**

> I think that's it? That might be it. I don't know. I cranked this out in about a day and a half and I kept expecting it to end but it just... never ended. I hope I got the characterizations right, too. Non-apocalyptic Shane and Lori are kinda hard to write.
> 
> Also, I've edited this as best as I could but I don't have a beta. So yeah.


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